when the wind blows
by SylviaBronte
Summary: "We're dying, Jemma. We're going to die." / "I know." / Nuclear war AU set in the mid-80s in an unspecified city in England.


**AN: This is heavily inspired by the 80s movie _Threads_ , which is set in Sheffield, UK. I've borrowed a few quotes from it, and there's also a very obvious quote that I've borrowed from the show that you'll very easily spot.**

 **This was also brought on by me wanting to experiment with a new writing style. You tell me if I pull it off! This style was borrowed from a fic written by plinys on Archive of Our Own (I'm not sure if she has an account here).**

 **I've barely beta'd this and I literally wrote it in a day, so please excuse any mistakes. This fic is named after the heartbreaking Raymond Briggs movie, _When the Wind Blows_. Finally, please leave a review! It's not a lot but it really makes my day!**

 **(Reposted from my Ao3 account.)**

 **Enjoy?**

* * *

I.

 _May, 1984._

They listen to the radio while they work, Jemma likes a bit of music in the lab and they both like to keep up to date with the news.

The news story that follows the Queen song they were tunelessly singing along to concerns them both, Jemma in particular.

" _An allegedly US-backed coup d'etat in Iran has prompted the Soviet Union to occupy the northern part of the country, ostensibly to prevent the return of a pro-Shah regime. The USA has hinted at deploying troops to Iran to prevent the Soviets from reaching the oil fields in the south, and..._ "

She frowns, and steps away from the lab table.

"It's all getting a bit scary, isn't it?" she comments, peeling off and binning her latex gloves with a worn out sigh.

Fitz slowly shakes his head. "It'll calm down eventually. It won't go too far."

He kisses her head, and she believes him.

* * *

IX.

The town centre has become a place that neither of them care to visit alone. The streets are rife with riots and looting, the people of Britain desperately fighting against something that is hopelessly out of their hands. The latest news is that fighting has broken out between the US and Soviet natives.

Jemma and Fitz try to buy as much canned food as they can, despite the astronomical prices. Fitz says it keeps the best, so with themselves and their close friends in mind they buy as much food as they can and head back to drop it off, a thank you for letting them share their cellar should the worst happen.

* * *

VI.

They hold each other in bed, their eyes glued to the television while the newsreader talks about the ever-growing tensions between the US and the Soviet Union. The latest development is that the Soviets had ignored the US ultimatum of a joint withdrawal, following the Soviets' transportation of nuclear warheads to an Iranian base.

Jemma reaches for the remote and turns it off after a little while, not wanting to hear it anymore. She presses her face into Fitz's chest and he holds her close, his arms tightening their hold when her body begins to shake with sobs.

"It's alright, Jemma. I've got you." he promises, kissing the top of her head and rubbing her back to soothe her.

"We're all going to die, Fitz, I've been studying nuclear fallout, and-"

"Stop it." he says gently, and she does. "I'm telling you, it won't happen. They aren't crazy, they know how bad it'll be if it did go that far."

"But I'm _scared_ ," she whimpers, and it breaks his heart.

"I know." Fitz admits quietly, blinking tears out of his eyes. "Me too."

* * *

XVIII.

"We're dying, Jemma. We're going to die."

"I know."

* * *

II.

" _The US navy in the Indian Ocean has been put on high alert while rumours continue to spread in relation to the disappearance of the USS Los Angeles in the Persian Gulf._ "

Jemma and Fitz are in the pub when they hear the announcement, with their friends Lance and Bobbi. They're a lovely - if dysfunctional - couple, and they seem to be going through a good patch given the way they're lovingly looking at each other in a way that honestly makes Fitz feel ill.

"Nothing'll happen," Lance announces somewhat cockily after he notices the way Jemma look worriedly at the TV, draining the rest of his beer and slamming the glass down on the table. Bobbi, delightfully buzzed, laughs at her boyfriend's antics. "Come on, we're here to have a good time!"

The pair exchange a glance, but say nothing.

* * *

X.

It finally happens when Jemma and Fitz are over at Lance and Bobbi's house.

Lance is out, buying wooden planks and sandbags to further protect them from the possible attack. Fitz is making lunch for them all in the kitchen while Jemma and Bobbi discuss the the previous night's episode of _Coronation Street_ , at least trying to keep _som_ _e_ semblance of normalcy in their lives amidst the fear.

When the siren begins to wail, the sound slices through them and they freeze, looking at each other with wide and terrified eyes. Fitz acts first, running from the kitchen and hauling them both to their feet.

" _Come on!_ " he cries, tugging them in the direction of the cellar. "We need to move!"

* * *

III.

 _"Earlier today a collision in the Gulf of Oman between the Soviet battlecruiser Kirov and the USS Callaghan left the former damaged. Subsequent discoveries by American and and Israeli search and rescue vessels have revealed debris and an oil slick from the missing USS Los Angeles that disappeared only a few days ago. US President Ronald Reagan has now warned the Soviets about the possibility of an "armed confrontation with incalculable consequences for all mankind.""_

* * *

XI.

A single warhead explodes high above the North Sea.

The electrical pulse burns out many electrical systems, causing massive damage to communications across Britain and North-West Europe.

* * *

XVI.

In the days following the attack, the firestorm slowly dies down. Both Jemma and Fitz are ill with what they know is radiation sickness, but that doesn't keep her from dragging her weak body up the steps with him following. They are greeted by a dark world, with radioactive fallout coating everything lightly like discoloured snow, and an absent neighbourhood with a whistling wind.

Aside from the occasional half of a wall, or in one case a wall with part of the ceiling still hanging on, the houses have been completely decimated. They see nothing left of their home, now flattened on the ground.

It's Jemma that sees Bobbi first.

Her bottom half is completely submerged under the rubble. The left side of her face, which is now perpetually frozen in a scream, has been completely burned off.

They work together to free her. Jemma weakly takes Bobbi's lifeless body into her arms and hugs her, slowly beginning to cry as she looks around the true horror of the situation sinks in. Fitz places a hand on her shoulder, and cries with her.

They never find Lance.

* * *

VII.

They wake up the following morning to the news that the Soviets' Mashhad base had been attacked by US B-52 bombers using conventional weapons. Jemma had wordlessly rushed to the television as soon as she saw the headline, and Fitz didn't bother stopping her. The serious face of the newsreader flickered onto the screen.

" _-Soviets defended the base with a nuclear warhead, delivered by a surface-to-air missile, which destroyed many of the B-52 planes. We've received word that the US has now destroyed the base and ended the battle with a battlefield nuclear weapon. As of yet, it is still unclear how much..._ "

Before either of them can react to the news of the brief tactical nuclear skirmish, they hear the sounds of a familiar female voice screaming at someone, with a male yelling in return. Jemma rushes out with Fitz in tow, wrapping her dressing gown around herself as she searches for the source of the mayhem.

Bobbi and Lance are in the middle of the street, with quite the crowd watching on in silence. Bobbi is standing by the car, red in the face and clearly about to cry while she and her boyfriend argue.

"For God's sake, Lance, you saw the news! We need to get out of the city and go stay with your brother in the country, we'll be safer there!"

"Bobbi, I am _not_ leaving my home on the account of something that probably isn't even going to happen!" he countered, his fists clenched at his sides. Jemma reached out to take Fitz's hand, shaking slightly.

"We'll die if we stay!"

"We're not going to die, we'll hide in the cellar and we'll be completely fine!"

She breaks down in tears before she can continue the fight, and Lance steps forward to embrace her. Jemma turns away and goes back into the house, tugging Fitz's hand and leading him back with her.

* * *

XII.

The mushroom cloud from the next missile towers high above the city.

The blast of what feels and sounds like a strong, screaming wind blows out the windows, and the flying broken glass narrowly misses them. When they're halfway down the steps to the cellar, Bobbi stops and immediately pulls back when a sudden realisation dawns on her.

"Lance is still out there." she remembers, her face paling. Her two friends look up at her, and when she goes to run back up Fitz grabs her wrist.

"Bobbi, he'll find shelter. Just come down!" he pleads.

"Fitz, stop, I need to find him!"

Bobbi wrenches her wrist from his grasp and bolts back up, running into the living room. She ignores the crunch of broken glass uner her feet.

" _Lance!_ " she screams, and she is suddenly blinded by a bright, brilliant white light.

* * *

VIII.

"What'll we do, if it happens?" she asks quietly, sitting down heavily on the sofa.

"We'll be safe in Lance and Bobbi's cellar, it'll hopefully protect us from the initial attack. I already spoke to him. We'll be fine, Jemma."

"Will we?"

 _No_.

"Of course we will."

She tries not to think about it any further, and leaves the room to get ready for work.

* * *

XIV.

Jemma sobs in Fitz's arms, who is completely silent and numb with shock. They hear the fire raging above them and, faintly, weak cries for help. She coughs a few times and he does the same, dust heavy in the air. There is another loud rumble and the basement shakes again, evoking a terrified, strangled scream from Jemma.

"Jesus Christ, not another one..." he whispers, holding her tightly.

* * *

IV.

"A woman in the shop was talking just now about how she thinks there'll be a nuclear war." Jemma comments one morning, upon returning home after buying more coffee to replace their empty jar. Fitz grunts dismissively from the sofa where he's reading the paper, and Jemma tries to ignore the massive block letters on the front about the US heading to Iran.

She puts the kettle on and fetches two mugs, one spotty (hers) and one striped (his). While she hunts through the cupboards to find the box of teabags, she speaks up again.

"You're an engineer, Fitz. You know these things, I can remember you studying what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki when we were in university. How bad would a nuclear war _actually_ be?"

When she doesn't receive an immediate answer, she walks back into the living room to ask again in case he didn't hear her. He's sitting on the sofa with his paper slightly lowered, staring at the wall before him as though deep in thought. Eventually, she gets her answer.

"Catastrophic." he says simply, suppressing a shudder and returning to his paper.

* * *

XIII.

The East-West exchange 3,000 megatons. 210 total fall on the UK.

This explosion is closer. Much, much closer. Fires erupt instantly and buildings are blown apart.

The only sound to be heard is the raging firestorm, tearing through the rubble and bare bones of gutted buildings, practically all that is left of the city.

* * *

XVII.

Jemma gives Fitz the last of the water, which he promptly vomits up along with the tin of cold baked beans from before. She is sick soon after, but she barely even cares anymore.

She lies on the ground with him, their bodies stretched in opposite directions with their heads next to each other and their hands joined. The dizziness is kept at bay, though it does nothing for their burning fevers, headaches, and fatigue.

"I would have married you, you know," he whispers. "I even asked your dad for permission. I was gonna propose."

With a lump in her throat, she replies. "I would have said yes."

For a while, they lapse into silence.

"Are you afraid to die?" Fitz asks, his tone quiet. Neither of them know what day it is, or whether it's day or night.

"I don't think I'm afraid of anything anymore." comes her weak response.

* * *

V.

On their day off, Lance and Fitz have left to go and watch a football game, leaving Bobbi and Jemma behind to spend some girly time together. Bobbi always seems to get more into girly time than she does, but she truly values the time they spend together. They're acting like teenagers, painting each other's nails and shamelessly gossiping about their neighbours. Gossip is another thing that Jemma isn't that keen on, but Bobbi makes it _so much fun_.

Both of them sit bolt upright at once and Bobbi accidentally spills red nail polish on Jemma's hand when they hear a loud siren wailing outside. Jemma recognises it instantly as an air raid siren and she grips Bobbi's hand tightly, shaking.

"It's a test," Jemma reminds herself and Bobbi, though her grip on her hand doesn't loosen. "They said there'd be one today. It's only a test, they're just being cautious."

"They're actually testing them now?" Bobbi asks, ashen faced. Jemma nods. "Shit. This really _is_ bad."

* * *

XX.

Jemma tries in vain to clear her throat. "I like to think about the first law of thermodynamics." she begins slowly, her voice hoarse. "That no energy in the universe is created, and..."

"None is destroyed." he speaks with her, and she pauses to weakly smile.

"That means that every bit of energy inside us,-" She pauses to cough. "-every particle, will go on to be something else. Maybe live as a dragonfish, or a microbe, maybe burn in a supernova ten billion years from now."

She falls silent when she hears Fitz's laboured breathing stop, and she just knows. Tears well in her eyes and she so badly wants to give in to fear, but she doesn't. Instead, Jemma continues to speak to calm herself in what will surely be her final moments.

"And..." More coughing. "And every part of us now was once part of... of some other thing. A moon, a storm cloud, a mammoth... a monkey."

Jemma feels her body beginning to fail her, perhaps mercifully, as her headache is finally beginning to cease and her nausea is slowly fading.

"Thousands... and thousands... of other beautiful things, that are just as terrified to die as I am." she whispers to herself.

With her last ounce of strength, she turns her head to look at Fitz and closes her eyes.

"We gave them new life. A good one, I hope."

* * *

XV.

Jemma is violently sick in the corner, while Fitz holds back her hair and rubs her back. He reminds her that the symptoms of radiation sickness and panic are too similar to tell apart at this point, but he knows deep down that they will share the same horrible fate.

He helps her to have a drink of water, but not too much to make it last.

The fire rages on, and the heat is intense.

* * *

XIX.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

XXI.

The slow rise and fall of Jemma's chest finally stops, and she leaves the war torn world with a sigh of resignation.


End file.
